Digital Economy Bill – Code of practice: accessibility to on-demand audiovisual services for people with disabilities affecting hearing and/or sight
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon I do think that more needs to be done. The counter to the statistic that the hon. Gentleman has just quoted is the number of pages being taken down. The BPI alone is notifying half a million infringing pages and they are promptly removed, but this is a Hydra—as soon as […]
Enagagements: Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon Does my right hon. Friend agree that if the UK is to remain competitive and our citizens are to enjoy the benefits of the digital revolution, it is essential that we should be at the forefront of the deployment of both ultra-fast broadband and 5G mobile connectivity? May I therefore welcome […]
Press Matters
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon I welcome my right hon. Friend’s intention to continue to listen very carefully on these matters. Will she confirm that in considering how best to proceed, she will take account of the significant deterioration in the economic health of traditional media, which has taken place even since Leveson and is still […]
Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill Nissan: Sunderland
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon I am delighted to welcome the Bill’s Second Reading. As has been pointed out, this is a Bill we have welcomed in the past; indeed, I chaired the Select Committee that considered the draft Bill in 2008, when we subjected it to pre-legislative scrutiny. At the time, we very much welcomed […]
Broadcasting
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon I welcome the publication of both the draft charter and now the agreement. This is the culmination of a process that started a year ago with the publication of the consultation paper on the future of the BBC. As both Front-Bench spokespeople have mentioned, that produced a very wide-ranging and voluminous […]
BBC
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon Will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirm that the draft charter is not, as some have said, either a damp squib or the brainchild of Rupert Murdoch? Does she agree that the charter makes significant changes—including the new governance structure, the new requirements for diversity, distinctiveness and impartiality, […]
Football on television
09 June 2016 Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) f he will take steps to ensure that football supporters from all nations of the UK have non-paying access to watch their national team play on TV. [905302] The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr John Whittingdale) The Ofcom code on listed […]
BBC White Paper
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr John Whittingdale) I thank the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) for giving the House the opportunity to debate the White Paper on the future of the BBC, even if I am less than happy with the terms of her motion. The motion […]
BBC Licence Fee for Over 75s
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr John Whittingdale): My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be making his Budget statement on Wednesday, but following news reports on Sunday, I would like to take the opportunity now to confirm details of the agreement that we have reached with the […]
Broadband in Gloucestershire and Superfast Broadband
2. Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) (Con): What steps his Department is taking to improve broadband coverage in Gloucestershire. [900096] The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr John Whittingdale): The Government have committed nearly £27 million to the roll-out of superfast broadband in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. This should take superfast broadband coverage to an additional […]